Jose Manuel San Roman Perez, specialist in minimally invasive or percutaneous foot surgery and director of the Clinica San Roman in Alicante, has highlighted the benefits of minimally invasive surgery as a technique to treat bunions.
Bunions are a deformity of the big toe, specifically on the inside of the foot, when the toe starts to deviate toward the second toe. It is a painful condition that develops gradually and is influenced by various factors, from hereditary to mechanical factors. It may be delayed, but if the condition is severe, surgery is the only solution.
Advantages of minimally invasive surgery in the last years
In the last few years, minimally invasive surgical techniques have advanced so that the intervention is shorter, with hardly any post-operative discomfort. It is performed under local anesthesia and with a very rapid recovery.
Traditional bunion surgery has received a bad image because it requires long hospital stay, spinal or general anesthesia, long periods of immobilization with casts and post-operative pain, etc. But advances in surgery and new surgical instruments open new doors to minimally invasive surgery with minimal discomfort and anesthesia that can safely correct a bunion deformity.
The advanced fluoroscope-type imaging equipment allows live visualisation during percutaneous foot surgery. Also, the instruments of this type of surgery differs in the use of mini scalpels and a micromotor of low revolutions and high torque that allow the resection of the bunions with minimal trauma or injury to the nearby tissues.
Minimally invasive surgery does not require the use of needles, screws, plates or any kind of metalwork. The patient simply walks out on his or her own feet with a special shoe and no help. After one week, the bandage and stitches are removed. A new maintenance bandage is applied and changed regularly and progressively allows for regular daily activity. Finally, depending on the type of bunion surgery that has been performed, surgical discharge will take place between one to four weeks after the first dressing change.
Remember that if you have any deformity or pain in your feet, you should see a foot specialist or podiatrist. Clínica San Román is a pioneer with over 35 years of experience in percutaneous or minimally invasive foot surgery.